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Elizabeth Warren calls her Wall Street claim ‘silly’
By Joe Battenfeld
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - Updated 5 hours ago

Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren is copping out of her claim that Wall Street executives are supporting her because she’ll “save capitalism,” saying she made a “silly” gaffe.

“I passed along a comment that was over the top, and it was silly for me to do so,” she told the Herald at a Somerville campaign stop.

Warren had boasted to the National Journal that Wall Street executives have told her:“I want to support your campaign because you will save capitalism.”

Warren’s claim was ridiculed by Republicans and others because she has spent most of her campaign bashing her GOP opponent, Sen. Scott Brown, for being one of Wall Street’s “favorite” senators.

Under questioning by the Herald at the Somerville stop today, Warren immediately backed off her claim, repeatedly saying it was a mistake. She declined to name any Wall Street tycoons who she says made the comment about her saving capitalism.

“It was silly for me to pass along the comment,” she said.

The Harvard Law professor’s admission of a mistake stands in stark contrast to her response to Herald stories about her claims of Cherokee heritage. The issue dogged Warren’s campaign for months after she gave differing responses and repeatedly tried to evade questions.

Warren still has refused to say she made a mistake by telling Harvard Law School she was an American Indian minority without any proof of Cherokee ancestry.

Warren’s quick reversal of her “save capitalism” comments about Wall Street backing comes as she continues to try to portray Brown as the candidate of Wall Street.

“I’m out there every day talking about the importance of accountability on Wall Street and the importance of having rules,” Warren said.“And ultimately I believed that that is how markets work best, when there are transparent rules and when there’s a cop on the beat to enforce those rules.”

Asked whether she still believes Brown is the Wall Street favorite, she laughed and said:

“Scott Brown still has his title.”

Warren also gushed about getting a sharing the stage with former President Bill Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, although she will not be the keynote speaker.

“Pretty cool, huh?” she said.